Elves
The Elves '''are a very old humanoid Race that once controlled a large Empire across the world. They have suffered incredible casualties throughout the centures through a nearly constant stream of invasions, civil wars, and disention. Of the segments of the Elvish population only the Sindar Elven population has increased by any notieceable amount since the time of the War of Vengeance which was centures ago. The Original Elves were formed, and in order to lead them the Titan Slanaash and his Titan children would form the Elven Pantheon made up of fourteen Elves who would lead the Elven society. The Titan Slanaash was one of the first Titans created, and amongst his earliest works was the creation of the Elves of whom would come to dominate the continent of Ulthuan which he birthed from the ocean with the help of his fellow Titans. His creation would become very important to him, and he would split their worship between him and his beloved Artemis, but this would end when during the Titan Civil War he was corupted. So strong was his love for the Elves at the time that unlike most of the other Chaos gods he did not use the Elves as his army and instead used demons thus making him significantly weaker but keeping the Elves strong. Slanaash is known well for his couption and subsequent causing of the splitting of the High Elven Kingdom, and the multitude of deaths caused by this war. The Druchii Empire is now one of Slanaash's most ardent followers. At one point the High Elves controlled the entirety of the Elven population but since the War of Vengeance and Civil War the Elves are devided into numerous sub sections and Kingdoms. Combined the Elves are not even in the top ten for populations but the land and military that they possess mean they are one of the most powerful races in the entire world. Biology Elves belong to the same genus as humans but not to the same specie, unlike Neanderthals (brut men) who are the same species, and so are Hin (halflings). Genetically elves are 99.8% similar to humans in this passage were going to discuss the remaining 0.2 percent. Appearance While the Elves vary greatly and their are whole sub groups within the overall race it can be determined the overall points that make the elves as a whole unique. For starters the Elves tend to be taller than humans. This is true in most cases though often you can find elves reaching 1.8 meters in height (males and females) and even higher. Reduced height poses an advantage in the dense forest realms the elves come from therefore adult elves tend to be ranging from 1.4 to 1.7 meters (males and females are the same size). Elves who do not live in forested areas for long periods of time tend to grow higher than woodland elves. Elven bodies are more slender than humans and they weigh lower than the human norm for their height. However their muscles are still strong and they are not fragile as they seem. Elves do not have bodily hair. Nowhere. Elves have narrow faces with pointed ears (this is much more refined than some illustrations show. the ears are less pointed than Mr. Spoks) and hazel shaped eyes, whose colour range from grey and silver through blue and green to violet. Brown eyes can be found but they are more rare. Hair changes according to subrace and tribe. While blond and golden tend to be more common in most cases some tribes are completely black haired. Old elves (and that’s mighty old!) have white hair. Blue hair or greenish are legends that probably refer to some fairy race or to dryads. Senses Elven ears have a different hearing range from humans. While human adults here noises from 400 to 20,000 hertz , elves here from 1000 to 30,000 hertz a slightly higher range. This is probably why elves speak in higher pitches than humans. Elves have an excellent sense of sight especially in close ranges. They separate colours better, and therefore make better archers and hunters in forested areas when shades of green are the difference between a leaf and a meal of frog legs. I have a serious problem with infravision. In order to decipher infra red light the eyes of an elf should be very different. Snakes that do have infravision have special organs for that range of light instead of their regular eyes. Because of this, IMC ,elves (end dwarfs and orcs and everyone) don’t have infravision but rather have the natural ability to open their pupils larger (like cats) in order to gather more light. They can see in what seem to humans to be darkness but cant see in total absolute darkness. This comes as a disadvantage in places of extreme sunlight such as deserts and snow fields , as the pain to the eyes is terrible. Smell and taste are usually the same as humans, though what elves and humans like to taste and smell is not always the same. Life Cycle Elven life cycle versus human life cycle: Fertility Elf females have a monthly period like human women but only release eggs every two or three months. Elf males release less sperm than humans and therefor fertilisation is rare. When fertilisation does occur the female enters a pregnancy of two years (like elephants!) at which time of course she is not fertile. After this long pregnancy an elven baby is born and stays helpless for three years (elven babies learn to walk when they are two). History The Creation of the Elves Main Article : Elves Slanaash was one of the first Titans created, and among his earliest works was the creation of the Elves of whom would come to dominate the continent of Ulthuan which he birthed from the ocean with the help of his fellow Titans. In order to bring these Elves to Ulthuan he fashioned seventeen pairs of males and females forming the seventeen Elder Houses of whom would begin to populate the island of Ulthuan. Wanting to expand them quicker Slanaash would create hundreds of more pairs of whom came to Ulthuan and became known as the Great Houses of Ulthuan, and thus allowed the population to expand even quicker. During this time Slanaash walked Ulthuan constantly as he was obsessively in love with the Elves alongside his beloved Artemis of whom became the almost mother of the Elves, and during this early time Slanaash and Artemis would form the early foundations of the Elven Pantheon based around Slanaash's persona as Asuryan. Expansion The Elves were one of the most ancient races but the original lands of the world became dominated by the Murloc, Woses, and Trolloc. During the centuries of dominance by these empires the Elves came to dominate the island of Ulthuan where they found their efforts were basically left alone unlike on the big continents where the big three controlled everything. War of the Beards Main Article : The War of Vengeance Present Day Species of Elves Overview The Elves are devided into three main branches of their race : : '''Sindar Elves : '''The Sindar Elves are the oldest of the Elven people and before the coruption wrought upon the Elven people this was the only branch of the Elven Race, but they have become diminished over time with the High Elves taking over the mantle of the largest branch. : '''High Elves : The second are the High Elves who live on Ulthuan and are the evolving members of the original forest dwelling Elves as well as the currently most powerful branch. : Dark Elves : And the third are the Dark Elves who live near Hudson Bay in Nord America. Beneath these three main branches of the Elves lies three other smaller elements of the Elven Race : Snow Elves : The Snow Elves are a branch formed following a large group of Elves being driven off course during the First War with Chaos and isolated on Iceland they would become changed by their proximity to Tek the Old One and became the Snow Elves. : Satyr : The Satyr are a branch of the Elven race formed by the Sindar Elf Illidan following his capture of the High Elven port of Tail Vena and their coruption was so great during there time led by Illidan that they now barely resemble their High Elven ancestory. : Numenorians : The Numenorians are a branch of the Elven population formed by the mingling of the Frankish slaves of the High Elven island of Atlantis of whom became so dominent they would come to form one of the most powerful Empires in the history of the Earth before they were laid low and are now much diminished but still strong in Europe. : Sea Elves : The Sea Elves are the smallest of the Elven branches but are unique in that they are led by one of the Elven Pantheon in the form of Mathlann of whom has led them into becoming a very moralistic but also isolated branch of the Elven Race. Demographics Nobility Elder Houses The Elder Houses are the first seventeen pairs of Elves that were put onto Ulthuan by Slanaash and these are the most ancient and powerful of the noble families of the Elven Race. Great Houses The Great Houses are the series of Elves put onto Ulthuan by Slanaash and were numbered in their hundreds making them the second string of power but also very influencial in the power structure of the Elven Race. Elven Pantheon The Original Elves were formed, and in order to lead them the Titan Slanaash and his Titan children would form the Elven Pantheon made up of fourteen Elves who would lead the Elven society. During the Titan Civil War the Elven Pantheon would become mixed in their loyalties as they defended the lands of Ulthuan, with many entering the Fade and becoming corupted by Slanaash but the majority remained behind on Ulthuan during the First War with Chaos where they fought during the conflict. Culture Language Main Article : Eltharin Eltharin is the ancient language of the Elves. Eltharin was developed many millennia ago in a time when humans where still uttering primitive grunts and were yet to develop written language. In a similar manner to Khazalid the language of the Dwarfs, it has remained almost unchanged for thousands of years, however unlike Khazalid, several variations of Eltharin are spoken by the different Elven kindreds. Eltharin is a divided language and several dialects are spoken by the various Elven kindreds. Though all these originated in Eltharin, some are so drastically different (being greatly changed by their isolation from Eltharin) that they could almost be called separate languages in their own right. Lesser-known amongst the Elven languages is Anoqeyån, an ancient tongue used solely to shape the Winds of Magic into powerful spells, and is believed to be the closest surviving mortal language to the words spoken by the Old Ones. Eltharin in its many forms, is believed to have evolved from this powerful language, made simpler, more fluid and lyrical, and given mortal uses. Similarly, Eltharin forms the base for the primary human 'arcane language', the Lingua Praestantia, which was developed by Loremaster Teclis when he founded the Colleges of Magic. Category:Elves Category:Ulthuan Category:Races